Secretary’s Daily Meetings, lot 58 D 609

Memorandum of Conversation, by William J. McWilliams of the Executive Secretariat

secret
  • Subject:
  • Summary of Daily Meeting With the Secretary
  • Participants:
  • The Secretary
  • Mr. Webb
  • Mr. Rusk
  • Mr. Peurifoy
  • Mr. Nitze
  • Mr. Barrett
  • Mr. McFall
  • Mr. Merchant
  • Mr. Thompson
  • Mr. Fisher
  • Mr. Battle
  • Mr. McWilliams

Item 1. McCarthy charges

Mr. Peurifoy reported to the Secretary on the McCarthy speech in the Senate last night.1 He said Senators McMahon and Lucas2 did yeoman duty on behalf of the Department. Senator McCarthy did not name any names but went into the cases which apparently are the same ones that have been gone into a half-dozen times [Page 1382] before. Senator Lodge has indicated that he would introduce a resolution to refer the investigation to a subcommittee of the Senate [Foreign] Relations Committee.3 Mr. Peurifoy said he had indicated his agreement to this move by Senator Lodge; and, he thought the Secretary should indicate to Senator Connally his agreement to this move.4

There was a discussion as to the advisability of appointing a committee of three distinguished citizens who could go into the files involved in the McCarthy charges and make a report on them. Mr. Webb suggested that the White House be checked on this point and Mr. Peurifoy left the meeting to do so. He subsequently reported that Mr. Dawson had informed him the President did not favor action of this type since he had already appointed a loyalty board composed of distinguished citizens to take care of these matters.5

Prior to the Secretary’s departure for the ECA hearings, Mr. Peurifoy talked to him further to give him a line on what to say to Senator Connally.

[Here follow Agenda Items 2 and 3: “Senate Appropriation Hearings” and the “Bulgarian Case”.]

  1. For the text of Senator McCarthy’s speech, see Congressional Record, vol. 96, pt. 14, p. 1952.
  2. Senator Brien McMahon (D.–Conn.); Senator Scott W. Lucas (D.–Ill.).
  3. See footnote 2, infra .
  4. Senator Tom Connally (D.–Tex.).
  5. The Loyalty Review Board was established by Executive Order 9835, of Mar. 21, 1947; for text, see 12 Federal Register 1935.